Louis
by FlipWise
Summary: This fic takes place before the events of The Outsiders. A kid wonders through Tulsa and the Curtis brothers take him in. But he has a mysterious past and the kid is trying to hide it from everyone.
1. The Kid

Okay, let's kick this thing. This fic will be a little different because Dally and Johnny are alive. I didn't bring them back to life or anything. This fic takes place before their deaths. Now let's get into it.

I don't own any characters from The Outsiders

Louis

Chapter 1: The Kid

"Darrel. You can have the weekend off. You've worked pretty hard."

Darry looked up at his boss. He was smiling. Darry smiled too.

"Thanks boss. I'll see you Monday."

"Have a good weekend Darrel."

The boss walked away and Darry got up from the bench. He was glad he had the weekend off. His back was beginning to hurt again. Ever since his parents died, his whole family had to work real hard to stay together.

One thing he was worried about was that he was being too harsh on his youngest brother Ponyboy. He had heard that Pony wasn't too keen on being treated like that. But Darry didn't want to take any chances on him and Soda being sent to a boy's home.

Darry climbed into his truck. He looked at his watch. It was 11:00 p.m. His brothers should be home by now. Ponyboy better not be out all night. It began to rain. Now he knew his brothers would be at home. As Darry was driving home, he spotted something. Actually it was someone.

Out walking in this weather? Darry slowed down his truck. He looked at the person walking up the street. It was kid. A boy actually. Darry squinted his eyes.

"That better not be Ponyboy," he said to himself.

But it wasn't his brother it was someone else. He looked like a greaser, but Darry had never seen this guy around. The youngest greasers around were Ponyboy, Curly and a few others. All the others would be with their parents at home.

Darry slowed down next to the kid. He rolled down the window.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

The kid looked at him. He looked terrible. It seemed as if he hadn't slept in days. There was also a scar on his forehead. The kid pushed down his hair. He seemed to be trying to hide it.

He looked like he was around Pony's age, 13. He had on a jacket that didn't fit him too well, a dark green shirt, and long jeans. Darry felt sorry for the kid. The kid answered Darry.

"I guess."

"Get on in."

The kid walked around to the other side of the truck and got in. Darry then asked,

"Where are you heading?"  
"Don't know."

Darry looked at the kid. It seemed like needed a place to stay.

"Where are your parents?"

The kid didn't answer.

"Do you have anywhere to stay."

The kid shook his head. That settled it.

"Do you want to stay at my house? I have two other brothers."

The kid looked back at him again. Darry could see a small smile on his face. It was barely noticeable. The kid answered.

"Okay."

Darry put his foot on the accelerator and started for his house. He hoped Steve, Two-Bit, Johnny and Dally weren't planning on staying over. This kid needed somewhere to stay. Darry reached the house. He helped the kid out of the car. His leg seemed to be damaged a little.

Darry walked up to the porch and let the kid inside first. He then walked in to see his two brothers watching TV. Waiting for their eldest brother to return. Soda looked up and asked,

"Darry. I thought you were practicing abstinence?"

Darry and Ponyboy smiled. The younger kid even got a slight smile on his face. Darry started up.

"I found this guy walking down the street in the rain. I figured he needed a place to stay. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Sure," said both Ponyboy and Sodapop at the same time.

"You can hit the couch," said Darry. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna change clothes. Also I'm gonna need a mosauge from you, Soda, in a minute."

"Okay," said Sodapop. He turned to the kid. "My name's Sodapop. Don't laugh. It's original."

"My name is Ponyboy," introduced the youngest Curtis brother.

"What's your name," asked Soda.

The kid looked at the Curtis brothers. He answered them.

"Louis."


	2. A Little Chat

Chapter 2: A Little Chat

Soda, Pony and Louis began watching television more. Darry then called Soda's name. Soda got up.

"Time for his massage," said Soda smiling. "I think I'm gonna put him to sleep this time."

Soda walked to the back of the house while Ponyboy and Louis sat there watching TV more. Pony then decided to make conversation.

"So…where are you from?"

Louis turned his attention to Ponyboy.

"I'm not sure."

Ponyboy was confused. How do you not know where you are from? He seemed like he was around his age. Ponyboy thought more. He could have amnesia.

"How old are you?" asked Ponyboy.

"Thirteen."

"So am I."

"Cool."

There was a slight silence. Then Louis decided to ask questions.

"Where are you parents?"

Ponyboy looked down for a minute. Louis then realized he said something wrong. He instantly felt bad. Pony responded though.

"They died a while ago."

"Oh…sorry."

"What about your parents."

"I-I-I. I can't say right now."

Ponyboy became even more confused. What was with this kid? Pony decided to drop the conversation right there. He guessed if the guy didn't want him know, then he didn't need to know. Ponyboy continued.

"You can meet the gang tomorrow."

"A gang!"

"Well, not a real shoot and stab type. Just a bunch of friends."

"Oh. What are they like?"

Ponyboy thought for a minute.

"Well, you've already met my brothers. Sodapop's best friend is Steve. He's pretty good with cars."

Ponyboy didn't want to get into detail with how much he like Steve. He continued.

"The joker of the gang is Two-Bit-"

"That's his real name?"

Ponyboy laughed.

"No. It's Keith. We call him that because he always gets in two bits worth. The toughest one is Dally. He's from New York and pretty wild. There's also Johnny. He's kinda not wanted at home, so he hangs out with us a lot."

Louis had then thought of something but quickly changed his mind. He didn't like the thought. Ponyboy got up and yawned.

"I'm gonna go to bed. Let one of my brothers know if you need anything."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Ponyboy walked to the back of the house while Louis pulled himself onto the couch. He leg was hurting like crazy. He pulled up his pants leg. There was good cut on his leg.

"Geez! Where did you get that from?"

Louis looked up quickly. He hadn't realized that Sodapop had walked back into the living room.

"Oh! Um…It was when I was running in the woods. It's not that bad."

Soda shook his head.

"It's bad alright. You need a bandage. Darry told me something was wrong with your leg. He said you had trouble getting out of the truck and was limping on the way to the front door. I'll be right back."

Soda walked to the bathroom. He reached into the cabinet and grabbed a couple of things. They always kept First aid stuff in their house because the gang being in rumbles. He remembered in the rumble against Shepard's gang, his head was busted open. That had to be the worst headache ever.

Sodapop thought about this kid. He was very mysterious. He looked like he had been hurt somewhere. Soda could see why Darry picked him up. If he knew his brother, he would have felt sorry for the kid. He was walking down the street in the rain too. He could get phenomena!

As Soda walked out of the bathroom, he wished that his older brother showed how much he cared for Ponyboy. He walked up to the front and wrapped the bandage around Louis' leg. When he finished, he decided to head to bed.

"Go ahead and go to sleep," suggested Sodapop. "Let your leg rest."

"Okay."

"Do you sleep with the TV on or off?" Soda does that sometimes.

"Off."

"Okay." Soda cut off the television. "Good night."

"Good night."

Soda walked to his room. Before Louis went to sleep. He climbed out of the couch and got on bended knees. He put his hands together and closed his eyes. He then said,

"God. Please forgive me for what I have done. Amen."

He climbed back onto the couch and rested his leg. He was out like a light. He hadn't slept in two days.


	3. Meeting the Gang

Chapter 3: Meet the Gang

The next morning Ponyboy was sitting on the porch studying. He was actually waiting for Louis to wake up. It was nearly noon. He must have been real tired. Steve had came by to catch a ride with Soda to work. He saw Louis still asleep. Steve just said,

"We've got another kid on our hands!"

He then went out of the door with Soda and Darry.

Ponyboy knew that comment was kinda directed at him. Steve always said he was a tag-a-long whenever Soda invited him to go somewhere with the both of them. He lifted his head from his book when he saw two teenagers walking down the street towards his house. It was Two-Bit and Johnny.

Ponyboy bent his page over and closed his book. With Two-Bit around, there was no way he was gonna concentrate on the story.

"Hey, Ponyboy," greeted Two-Bit.

"Hey, Two-Bit, Johnny."

Ponyboy picked up his book and stood up. Two-Bit then asked,

"Where's the kid?"

Ponyboy pointed his thumb towards the door.

"Still sleeping I think. I gotta check."

They walked into the house to see Louis awake. He was still laying down though. He had gotten up, cut on the TV, and went to lay back down. He was watching Mickey Mouse.

"I think I like this guy!" yelled Two-Bit sitting next to the couch.

Louis smiled.

"This must be Two-Bit." Two-Bit answered,

"You know it. But let's be quiet. It's Mickey time."

Louis put on an even bigger smile. He then looked at Johnny. As he looked at him, he just about recognized who it was. He looked like he had trouble at home. Louis didn't want to say anything though. He still felt kinda bad about mentioning Ponyboy's parents. He just asked,

"Who's this?"

"This is Johnny. Remember I told you he's kinda shy."

"I said quiet! It's Mickey time!" shouted Two-Bit.

Everyone laughed and sat down to watch the show. When it was over they decided to go see if a good movie was playing.

It was pretty sunny outside. Ponyboy then asked,

"Why don't you take off that jacket. You'll get too hot in it."

Louis forgot about his jacket. He had been asleep with it all along. He took it off and they all walked out of the door. When they reached the movie theater and watched a movie. As they were there, Louis noticed some other kids looking at them as they at down. Louis looked back at them. They still stared at them.

They were nice looking. Wearing classy clothes. Louis leaned over to Two-Bit.

"Who are those guys staring at us?"

Two-Bit cut his eyes over to the guys. He smiled and answered Louis' question.

"Those are socks. They absolutely hate us greasers."

"Is that the name of you gang or um…friends? Greasers?"

"Well, not exactly. It depends on how much money you have and what side of town you live on. Since you're staying with the Curtis you're a greasers too."

Louis nodded. He had never been close to a gang. He was actually scared of what he heard about them. But this one wasn't so bad.

When the movie ended, they were walking out of the theater. Two-Bit saw a couple of greaser girls and said he'd be right back. Go figure. Pony, Johnny and Louis just stood there waiting for Two-Bit.

Suddenly, three socs walked up to them. Johnny had actually froze. Ponyboy was freezing hard. Louis was actually confused. He didn't know what was gonna happen.

"The janitor forgot to pick up the trash outside," said one soc.

Louis was just staring at one of them. He looked real mean. He had never seen any teenager that looked that mean. The soc looked back at him.

"What are you staring at, grease?"

Louis didn't answer. He didn't have anything to say.

"I'm talking to you!"

"And I'm talking to you!" yelled someone from behind.

The socs turned around to see Two-Bit and two other greasers. The greaser in front was a hard looking character. Louis would hate to meet him at night.

"You plan on taking on six of us?" asked Two-Bit.

The socs didn't answer. They just walked way in different directions. As the socs left, one of the other greasers left. Two-Bit put his hand on Louis shoulder and introduced him to the other greaser.

"Dally. This is Louis. The kid that Darry found. Louis this is Dally. The tough guy."

"Hey kid," said Dally looking at Louis.

Louis reminded Dally of Johnny. He looked so innocent. The scar barely visible between his hair didn't help. Dally wanted to know more about this kid.


	4. Two of A Kind

I've got some real nice reviews! Thanks. Keep 'em coming!

Chapter 4: Two of a Kind

The greasers walked around more. Dally couldn't help but to glance at Louis. He reminded him so much of Johnny. He felt the same way he felt for Johnny for Louis. He took a quick glance at Johnny. He remembered when he had been jumped by those socs. That made him scarred for life, kinda literally. He took another glance at Louis. He hoped he wouldn't get jumped. Johnny was enough.

Louis noticed that Dally was taking glances at him. He felt kinda uncomfortable. He hoped that Dally was suspicious of him. His greeting was different than everyone else's. He was kinda quiet. Two-Bit left later on when he found Cathy at the Dingo and Ponyboy stayed at the theater to watch another movie. Dally decided he would take the Johnny and Louis on a ride. They were on their way to Buck Merril's place to pick up his T-Bird.

"So kid," said Dally getting Louis' attention. "What brings you to Tulsa?" He had already talked to Soda at the DX. He said Ponyboy had told him that the kid seemed like he had amnesia. Either that or he was hiding something. Dally wanted to know.

"I was just walking through. I didn't know where I was."

Dally and Johnny looked at him puzzled.

"Didn't you notice the street signs?" asked Johnny. This was interesting enough to make Johnny talk.

"No. I really wasn't paying attention to anything."

That reminded Dally of what Ponyboy used as an excuse when he got in trouble with Darry. That guy stayed on Ponyboy too much.

They reached Buck's place and Dally went inside to him. Johnny and Louis sat on the steps of the house.

"So what do you guys do around here?" asked Louis.

"We play football, got to the movies, parties and get into rumbles."

"What are rumbles?"

Johnny thought for a moment. How would he describe a rumble?

"They're kind of like a big gang fight. Some you just use your hands but others you can use weapons. Like knives."

Louis thought for a moment. A big gang fight. They use weapons. That must be horrible looking after it finished. Especially if they used knives.

"Do you guys carry around knives?" asked Louis.

"Um…Yeah."

"Do you have one?"

Johnny hesitated. Should he pull it out? He only pulled it out for self-defense. He looked at Louis. He seemed trustworthy. Johnny didn't know why he felt comfortable around this kid.

"Okay."

Johnny pulled out his switchblade switched out the blade. Louis almost jumped when he did that. Louis was real nervous.

"Have you ever killed anyone with it?"

"No."

"Who else carries around one?"

"Two-Bit, and sometimes Steve and Soda."

Johnny put the blade back and put it back in his back pocket. He kinda felt tough getting out the blade. Johnny and Louis began talking more and getting to know each other. They really felt like friends even though they had just met each other.

Pretty soon, Dally came out with the keys to the T-Bird.

"Sorry I took so long," he started. "I had to argue with Buck a lot to borrow his car again. I don't know why he's complaining this much. He barely ever uses it."

They all hopped into the car and Dally started it up.

"Louis," said Dally turning his head.

"Yes."

"You better hang on for this roller coaster."

"What-"

Louis couldn't finish his sentence because he had to grab the car as Dally sped off. Johnny was hanging on to the door too. He wasn't as surprised though. He knew how Dally drove.


	5. Lifestyle

This fic is becoming pretty popular. Better than I expected. Keep the reviews coming.

Chapter 5: Lifestyle

After a while of riding around, going into gas stations, and disturbing the peace, Dally was pulled over for speeding. He had mouthed off to the cop so he had to go to the station. The cop had just left the car, Louis, and Johnny there. Dally said to just leave the car there. It was payback for Buck cheating in the card game they played last week.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Louis concerned about Dally.

"Yeah. That kind of stuff usually happens around him. The town isn't that far away. It'll only take about four or five minutes to get there."

"Okay. Johnny…I have a question. Do you have a certain feeling around Dally?"

Johnny was a little nervous to answer question. He had never told anyone else in the gang how he felt about Dally. Everyone else thought as him as a wild kid with a huge attitude. Johnny never shared his opinion with anyone else. He really didn't talk much at all.

"Well. I don't know about everybody else. But I feel protected around Dally. He's pretty gallant."

Louis didn't even know what 'gallant' meant. But he did sort of feel protected around him. It was probably because he had kept those socs from hurting him. It was a different feeling than from when he was protected by someone before…

Louis shook his head quickly. He didn't want to think about that. He was trying to get away from that thought.

"How do you feel about him?" asked Johnny breaking Louis' thoughts.

"Um. I'm not sure yet."

The two teenagers reached the town. It was sundown by then. Johnny then said to Louis.

"C'mon. I want to show you somewhere."

"Where?" asked Louis curiously.

"It's a place near Pony, Soda and Darry's house. We call it the lot. It's a good place to talk."

Johnny and Louis walked up to the lot and sat down. Louis liked the feel of this place. He had really never felt so comfortable anywhere.

"You know. I really feel like you're a friend. Even though I just met you," said Johnny.

"Same here," said Louis.

"Do you like it here, Louis?"

"Pretty much."

"Hm. It's okay?"

"You don't like it."

"To tell you the truth. I probably would have run away a million times. But Ponyboy kept reminding me of good stuff. Like sunsets. You ever seen one?"

"No."

"Me neither. I hope I see one in the future."

"Well. I think I gonna like it here. I think you guys are fun. The Curtis brothers are pretty nice. You're good to talk to, and I feel protected around Dally. I haven't met Steve yet."

"He saw you this morning. You were still asleep."

"Oh."

Johnny continued.

"I some times come over here to sleep when my folks are arguing. They do that a lot. I'm like a ghost in there. Unless my dad's hitting me, or when my mom's yelling at me."

"For what?" asked Louis. He didn't know Johnny had it this bad.

"I guess to take out anger."

Suddenly a figure stepped up in front of them. Louis looked up to see Sodapop.

"Hey, Johnny, Louis," he greeted.

"Hey Soda," said Johnny in a quiet voice. Soda turned to Louis.

"You need to come on home. Darry wants to get you set up."

"Okay," said Louis getting up. Soda then directed his attention to Johnny.

"Johnny. You wanna come on home with us?"

"I might sleep out here. I'll come to your house later on, maybe."

"Okay."

Soda and Louis walked over to the Curtis house. Soda then asked Louis,

"What did you do today?"

" I talked Johnny mostly. Dally had gotten arrested for driving too fast. What did you do?"

"I went to work at the DX. Darry has the weekend off and spent half the day resting his back at home. When I got off work, we hung out a little. By the way, do you know where Ponyboy is?"

"No. He stayed at the Movie Theater after Dally came."

"Hm. Is your leg any better?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. We're gonna give you Pony's old clothes. You're a little smaller than him, so they should fit pretty well."

"Okay."

They reached the house and Soda directed him to him and Ponyboy's room. Soda reached into a drawer and pulled out handfuls of clothes. He threw them onto the bed.

"Try them on," said Soda.

"In front of you?"

"Oh. Sorry. Close the door and knock when you're finished trying them on. The ones you can't fit just leave them on the bed. The ones that fit, just put them back into the drawer."

Soda went out of the room, and Louis shut the door. He tried on all of the clothes. There was one shirt that swallowed him so he left it on the bed. All of the pants had fit him. He put back on his regular clothes and knocked on the door. Soda walked in.

"Just this shirt," said Louis holding it up.

"Oops. Sorry. That's my shirt. We always get our laundry mixed up."

At that moment, Soda and Louis heard shouting from the living room. Darry was yelling at Ponyboy. For not letting anyone know where he was all day.

Soda sighed. He turned to Louis.

"Sorry you have to hear this. I'll just have to remind them we have a guest in the house. Darry gets angry at Ponyboy every once in a while. I'm going to go see if I can defend him real quick."

Soda put the shirt down and walked up to the front. Louis just sat down on the bed. He looked up at the sky. He then said,

"Please. Keep helping me."


	6. A Little Learning

Chapter 6: A Little Learning

The next morning Louis woke up in a cold sweat. He had a dream about something horrible. Someone was walking towards him, and Louis couldn't move. The guy was smiling too. He had a bag in his hand. That's when Louis woke up. It was actually the worst dream he had ever had.

Louis sat up and ran his hands through his brown hair. He was glad he was in the Curtis' living room. He got up. Darry had ironed a shirt and pants for Louis.

Louis got up. He put on the old button up shirt and blue jeans. He kinda liked the shirt. He had never had one like this. Louis looked up when Darry had stuck his head out of kitchen doorway.

"Breakfast. Come on in."

"Okay. I'm hungry anyway."

Louis walked in and was surprised to see what was on the table.

"Cake?" he said pointing towards the breakfast.

"Not just any cake," said Soda behind Louis. He almost made him jump.

"Chocolate cake. You should try it."

Louis sat down walked around to the other side of the table while Soda grabbed a fistful of cake and threw it on a plate.

"Sodapop," started Darry. "You better have washed your hands. Where's Ponyboy?"

"Taking his shower," answered Sodapop with his mouth filled with cake.

At that moment, Ponyboy walked in saying 'morning' to everyone. Everyone said morning back and Pony sat down to get his breakfast. After a while of eating and talking, Louis had gotten up and Soda asked,

"Hey Louis. While you're up, can you get me some chocolate milk out of the refrigerator?"

"Uh. Sure."

Louis stuck his head into the refrigerator. He looked around for a second and grabbed a carton off the shelf. He closed the door and extended the carton out to Soda. Soda looked at the carton confused. He then looked back at Louis.

"Um. This is regular milk."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Look at the carton."

Louis took a glance at it. Then went back the refrigerator. Darry got up and got behind Louis. Louis was searching through the refrigerator for the milk. Darry got confused too. The carton of chocolate milk was right in front of him. Louis finally got the right carton and gave it to Soda. Darry then came to a conclusion.

"Louis. Can I talk to you in the living room for a minute?"

"Uh…Okay."

Ponyboy and Sodapop looked at eachother. Was Louis in trouble? Louis thought the same thing. He hoped the milk carton thing didn't get in trouble. Louis second fear was being thrown out of the house.

When he got to the living room, Darry picked up a book. He gave it to Louis.

"What kind of book is this?"

Louis just started at the book. He wasn't sure what kind of book it was. He was clueless.

"I-I-I don't know."

Darry just nodded. He stooped down so he could see Louis eye to eye.

"You can't read. Can you?"

Louis just looked downward.

"No," he said quietly.

He was ashamed of not knowing how to read. A lot of people used to pick on him because of that. Darry continued.

"Have you ever been to school?"

Louis shook his head. He was feeling more and more useless by the second. Darry talked to him.

"It's alright. We can teach you. Ponyboy is excellent in English."

Louis brightened a little.

"Really," he said.

"Sure. C'mon on back in the kitchen. Finish breakfast."

Louis smiled. He really felt like he had three brothers. It was great. He followed Darry into the kitchen and finished breakfast. Darry started up,

"Hey, Ponyboy. I'm going to need you to tutor Louis."  
"In what?" said Ponyboy looking up.

"He needs to learn to read."

That kinda settled a couple of suspicions Ponyboy had. He really felt something was wrong with Louis. He trusted, he just wanted to know what was wrong with his past. He spoke up.

"Okay. I'll start when we finish breakfast. Is that okay, Louis?"

"Yeah."

Louis felt good. He had never been surrounded by this much care.


	7. The Bodygaurd

Chapter 7: The Bodygaurd

"Okay, what does 'T' sound like?"

"Tuh"

"Okay. Now try saying the word."

Louis looked at the word on the paper

"T-ul-sa. Tulsa!"

"Good job!"

Pony and Louis were in the kitchen. Ponyboy felt good teaching Louis how to read. He kinda felt sorry for the kid. He kinda felt like he had a younger brother. It was different since he was the youngest in the family.

Suddenly, they heard a door slam and a thump on the couch. Ponyboy spoke up,

"Um. Keep going over these words. I'll be right back."

Ponyboy put the pencil down and walked into the living room to see Dally sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette. He was mad. Soda and Darry walked in right then. They knew he was mad.

"What's wrong?" asked Darry.

Dallas was quiet for a moment. He was just staring straight ahead. He finally answered.

"Johnny's old man beat him again."

The Curtis brothers knew how Dally felt about Johnny's parents. Darry had to hold Dallas back once and when he was gonna go to Johnny's house and beat up his mom and dad.

No one knew that Louis was listening to the whole thing. He felt sorry for Johnny. He wanted to talk to him. Louis got up and sneaked out of the back door. He started to run when he got outside. He saw Johnny at the lot. He had his back turned and was sitting against the wall.

"Johnny!"

Johnny turned around to see Louis running up to him. Louis looked at Johnny as he approached him. He had a black eye and his lip was cut a little. Louis wasn't that surprised though. He had seen worse.

"Are you okay?" asked Louis sitting next to Johnny.

Johnny barely nodded. It was obvious that he was hurt. Louis felt even more sorry for him. Even though, he had just met Johnny, he felt like he was his best friend.

"What did he hit you for?" asked Louis.

"I slept in the lot. He said I shouldn't have been out all night, but he was just taking out some anger. I went back home to change clothes. He beat me when I finished changing clothes."

Louis felt like Dally did. He wanted to beat his parents too. But judging how his dad acted, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance.

"C'mon," said Louis getting up. "Let's go walk around."

Johnny looked up at Louis. He smiled and got up.

They decided to walk over towards the Dingo. They wanted to see what was going on in town today. On their way there, a car pulled up beside them. Two greasers got out of and swaggered towards them. Beer cans fell out of the car as they closed their door. It was obvious that they were drunk.

"We found some ity, bity, greasies," said one of them.

Johnny and Louis backed up. They were both scared. Louis looked at Johnny. He was pretty white. Louis hoped Johnny would get out his knife to scare them. But Johnny wouldn't pull out his knife unless they started attacking. There was no use scaring socs when they were drunk.

Suddenly the socs turned around. Louis and Johnny looked passed the socs to see Dally running towards them. He was gonna save them. A wave of relief swept over both Johnny and Louis.

One of the socs tried to swing on Dally but he ducked the swing. He uppercuted the guy and the soc hit the ground. The other soc tried to grab Dally but Dally grabbed his arm and twisted it around him. He pushed the guy on the ground and started kicking both of the socs.

Dally finally stopped and the socs were on the ground holding their stomachs. Dally spat on both of them.

"Keep messing with these kids," he yelled. He was fuming.

"If you mess with these two, you mess with me. You don't wanna mess with me!"

The socs were still holding their stomachs.

"I can't hear you!" demanded Dally.

The soc barely nodded. Dally calmed down. It was kind of a good thing that these two socs showed up. Dally needed to take his anger out on something. He calmed down and turned to Louis and Johnny.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

They both nodded. Louis was a little surprised at what he had seen. When he saw Dally take out his rage, it reminded him of something. It was a terrible thought.


	8. Revenge

Sorry I haven't been updating. I feel so bad. I think I even lost a fan! I'm not sure who it was because my computer is screwing up and it freezes quickly. I hope the fan is reading this and I hope you guys forgive my absence. But y'all should know that I'll give my fans what they want. Especially with a popular car like this! I'll be updating a lot now. My computer is still messing up, but I'll be using other computers, saving and opening or whatever! I'll do what I can to keep writing these. It's been torture for me! Now let's get on with the story:

Chapter 8: Revenge

Dallas lit up his cigarette. It cooled him down a lot more. Louis just stared at the tough guy. Dally noticed this and cut his eyes towards his face. He saw Louis' worried expression. He felt almost as bad he did for Johnny for Louis. Dallas blew the smoke out of his nose, a little trick he learned in New York.

"Let's go back to the Curtis house," he said.

It was more of a command. Louis and Johnny nodded and followed Dally back to the house. When they reached the house, Ponyboy continued teaching Louis how to read. Steve showed up pretty soon, so the older greasers went out goofing around. It was just Ponyboy, Johnny and Louis in the house.

Ponyboy finished with Louis and they would continue more later on that week. Pony went back to his room to finish some of his homework. He was hoping Darry would leave that day. He didn't want to get yelled at for not doing it Friday.

Johnny and Louis just sat there on the sofa.

"They always try to jump people like us. Don't they?" asked Louis.

"Yeah," said Johnny with a saddened voice.

"Is that why you carry your knife around?"

Johnny was quiet for a moment. He decided to tell Louis. This was the first time he talked to anyone about it.

"I guess I can tell you," said Johnny.

Louis scooted over to Johnny. He could tell there was something bad with this. Johnny started.

"One day me and the guys were playing football. I did okay, but Darry made majority of the goals. I decided I could get better. We had left the football in the lot so I decided to look for it so I could practice a little. While I was there, a whole lot of socs came towards me. I mean there were too many for me to handle. They started talking about me as usual. I couldn't remember what they were saying. I was too scared. Suddenly they jumped me. I could feel blood spill over my T-shirt and jacket. I wiggled out of my jacket and ran, but they grabbed me again and dragged me across the lot. They beat me more and I felt miserable afterwards. I couldn't move at all. It was terrible. I still wasn't comforted when the guys had found me."

Louis just stared at Johnny. That was horrible. Something flashed across Louis' mind again. He hated the thoughts that flashed through. He wanted to get away from them. He couldn't stand them. He shook his head widely. Johnny didn't notice though. He was caught up in his fearful world.

The two began talking more. Later on they hung out for the rest of the day. They pretty much walked around with other greasers and watched a couple of movies. When it was late at night, they were walking out of the movies. No one else was around. Right when they got outside, Johnny had to go to the restroom. He ran back inside and Louis just waited for him by the telephone booth.

Louis thought for a moment. He wondered if the Curtis would take him in. He never wanted to go back to his hometown. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a car park across the street. Three socs got out. Louis recognized two of them as the one Dally beat up. The other one was the one that was staring at him when he first went t o the movies. All three of them pointed to Louis. They were coming for him.

Louis darted off and ran off. He didn't know where he was going. He ran into an old, abandoned apartment and darted up the stairs. The socs were still following him. He ran into a room. The level wasn't too high. It was less than a story. Louis ran into a room. He was gonna climb out of a window and run back to the movie theater t o get Johnny. As he was climbing out of the window, a soc grabbed his jacket. The soc yanked the jacket and Louis slipped out of the jacket. He fell backwards as he fell out and hit the ground landing on his back. He was looking upward as he laid there on the cold floor. He could barely keep consciousness. He could hear the socs.

"Is he dead."

"I don't know."

"What do we do?"

"Jeez. I don't know?"

"Let's get out of here."

The three ran off leaving Louis there. Louis couldn't feel any bleeding. He hoped his head wasn't numb or something. Louis hated blood. He passed out second later.

When he came to, something wet was on his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw he was back in the Curtis living room. 'Was this a dream?' he thought. It was dark in the room. He looked over and saw Dallas asleep in the armchair. Johnny was on the floor. Louis sat up and his head ached a little. He reached down and shook Johnny.

"Johnny, Johnny," he whispered.

Johnny opened his eyes and looked at Louis. He looked real worried.

"Are you okay?" asked Johnny. "Dally found you unconscious in an alley."

"I'm fine," said Louis. "My head hurts a little."

"Oh. Dally is pretty ticked. He said he's tired of the socs right now."

"What is he gonna do?"

Johnny shrugged. Louis got a headache then.

"My head hurts more. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

"Okay. See you in the morning."

"Okay."

Louis drifted off. Johnny was his first best friend. Well, his first true best friend.


	9. More Time

Chapter 9: More Time 

When Louis woke up next, Johnny was watching television..

"Hey, Johnny," he said sitting up. His head was feeling a lot better. Johnny turned around and said 'hey' back. Louis then looked around.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked. Johnny sat on the couch beside him and answered.

"Pony, Two-Bit, and Steve are at school. Darry and Soda had to go to work. I'm not sure if Dally went to school or not. He might have skipped again."

That sounded like Dally. A tough troublemaker. Louis still felt protected by him, even if he was a hoodlum. Johnny then asked Louis,

"What happened?"

"About what?"

"Last night. Dally said you were unconscious in a alley."

"Oh. Some socs chased me into a building and I slipped out of a window."

"Oh. Darry had to calm Dallas down when he brought you here. He was gonna go out and get the socs."

"How would he know which ones?"

"That's the thing Darry stopped him for. If he had just gone around beating up people, he would have got jailed."

Louis thought for a moment. Dally would do all that just for him? They just met each other. Why would Dally want to protect him? Louis knew he didn't do that for everyone.

Johnny broke into his thoughts.

"I walked out of the bathroom and walked outside and didn't see you. I went around shouting your name and Dally heard me. He ran up to me and we started looking for you. Dally then saw a bunch of socs getting into a car and driving off. He saw where they were coming from and found you in a alley. We were both scared like heck."

Louis felt better. He knew he was surrounded by kindness. This was something different.

"Johnny."

"Hm."

"I just want to say. I could say you're my best friend."

Johnny was silent. He had never had a best friend before. Pony was close, but Darry kept him inside all the time. It felt good to have a best friend.

"I can say the same," Johnny said smiling.

Louis smiled too. He too had never had a best friend. Since he had a best friend…

"Johnny. Because I think you're my best friend, I feel I can tell you something."

Johnny looked at Louis.

"Tell me what?"

Louis gulped and sighed.

"My past."

Johnny wanted to hear this. He heard from everyone else that Louis was quiet about his past. Louis started…

Sorry for it being shorter than usual. But I'm trying to build suspense.


	10. My Past

Chapter 10: My Past 

"I can't remember the name of my hometown. I um…cant' read. My father ditched my mother and me when I was born. Because of this, my mother drank and smoked a lot. She abused me a lot. But I could tell she loved me. It was because we were going through a terrible time.

I lived in a very deep and dark city. Every night when I went to sleep, I could hear people cursing outside and gunshots. I got used to it, even though I was scared every night. There was one person I did make friends with though.

His name was Drake Hunter. He acted as if he was my best friend. He provided food and water for me when my mom was high or drunk. He acted real cool. But he had a deathly fear of knives. He always carried around a gun.

One day when I was at his apartment, he came out of the kitchen with a cup in his hand. There was something in the cup, but I didn't know what it was. The only drink that I had seen was water or milk.

He handed me the cup and said to drink it. I asked what it was and he said don't worry about it. He said it would make me feel better about my home life. He seemed like a good guy, so I drank it. It tasted pretty good and Drake asked me if I wanted more. I accepted it. I took about three cups.

Pretty soon, I felt sleepy and fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, it was late at night. I had had a dream that I was a big hoodlum. I had dreamed I robbed and shot somebody, they didn't die though.

I told Drake about the dream and he said that's just the side effects of the drink. I just shrugged it off. This continued for about a month. I kept having dreams about doing bad things and I wondered how this drink would make me feel better. What else what was weird was that Drake always had me wearing gloves before I drank the drink. I found out what the drink was then.

Drake was giving me alcohol. I also figured out that the dreams I had weren't dreams at all. I had actually done those things. I didn't like that. When I told Drake I didn't want the drink anymore, he got angry. We got into an argument.

That was the only argument I had ever had in my life. Finally he ran into the kitchen and came out with bottles full of the alcohol. I tried to run but he pinned me on the ground and poured the alcohol down my mouth. He used every single bottle on me.

I remember running around doing worse things then. I even stole Drake's gun. I went home and my mom started yelling at me. I blacked out. Finally I woke up, and I was in my house. I sat up and held my head. When I walked into the living room, I nearly puked. My mom was on the ground with her eyes wide open. Her head was split open. I looked over and saw Drake's gun in the corner. I then realized that I had shot her in the head. Blood was all over the ground. I must have shot her close up, because here head was actually open.

I cried for a moment. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I decided I didn't like where I was. I had to get away. I tried get up but something was hurting my leg. I looked at my leg and there was cut on it. My mom probably cut me in self-defense. It wasn't deep, but it was a log cut.

I ran away that day, walking for two days, stopping to rest every once in a while. I had been walking for at least two days before Darry had found me. And well, here I am."

Johnny just stared at Louis. He had a worse life than any of us had ever had. This guy should be the gang's pet. He had actually killed his own blood. That must have been horrible. Johnny was then glad that Dally showed compassion towards him. This kid needed friends.

"Louis, don't blame yourself for what happened," started Johnny.

"I don't," interrupted Louis. "I blame Drake. I hope I don't have to see him again."

"Even if he shows up, the gang will take care of you. I should know."

Louis smiled. He was still glad he was around this group of people.

"Thanks Johnny. I feel better getting this off of my chest. Don't tell anyone though."

Johnny nodded. He could trust him. The two continued watching TV and talking until Ponyboy and Two-Bit showed up. Two-Bit burst through the door and yelled,

"Long time no see!"

Louis and Johnny smiled as Two-Bit made room on the couch.

"Are you feeling better?" asked Ponyboy.

"Yeah."

"That's good. Darry said it didn't look like you had hurt anything bad. If you hadn't felt better today, we were gonna take you to the hospital."

Everyone except Louis knew why Darry didn't want Louis to go the hospital right away. The hospital would have asked questions and Louis might have ended up in a boy's home. If the people came to visit them, Louis would have been over Two-Bit's house until they left. Darry could tell that the kid wouldn't have like a boy's home.

Pony kinda felt like he was a ghost in the family now. Darry barely bothered Louis, but he was always on Pony's case. Ponyboy got that thought out of his head. This kid wasn't around his family. He needed some place to stay. He wondered about Louis' past. No one said they heard anything about it.

He was always around Johnny. He wondered if Johnny knew anything about it. Pony decided not to bother anyone about it. He would know about Louis when Louis was ready to tell everyone. He still wanted to know how it was.


	11. The Wrath of Dallas Winston

Chapter 11: The Wrath of Dallas Winston

While everyone was sitting there waiting for Darry and Sodapop to show up the phone rang. Ponyboy got up and answered it.

"Hello."

"Pony. This is Soda."

"Okay."

"How's Louis."

"He's fine."

"Get Two-Bit and run down to the lot. Dallas had started something with a couple of socs and a rumble is about to happen. Johnny can come to, but he might want to stay with Louis."

Ponyboy glanced at Louis and Johnny. They were sitting there talking. Johnny had never had an actual conversation with anyone. This is the most he'd seen him talk ever since he had been jumped. Him and Louis must have something in common.

"Okay, Soda. We'll be there in a minute."

Ponyboy hung up and Two-Bit asked,

"Who was that?"

"It was Soda. There's gonna be a rumble in the lot. Johnny you can stay with Louis if you want."

Johnny looked at Louis.

"Yeah. I'll stay."

Two-Bit and Ponyboy got up and ran out the door. As the door closed, Louis asked Johnny,

"What is a rumble?"

"It's when two gangs get together and fight."

"Is it violent?"

"Kinda. It depends. You can still look bad after punches, but sometimes they use knifes and chains."

"Oh."

Louis was quiet. He remembered the vision of his mother. He shuddered.

After a while, the door burst open and all the greasers came walking through. Ponyboy had a bruise on his cheek and he was holding his arm, Darry had a bruise on his jaw, Two-Bit had two black eyes, Soda was limping on his leg and his other arm was sore, and Steve had a bloody lip, hurt arm and a black eye. Dallas came out looking like he barely got hit. All he had was a bloody lip.

"Who won?" asked Johnny sitting up.

"We did! Of course!" said Dally. He looked towards Louis. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Louis and Johnny got up so some of the other guys could sit on the couch. Darry hit the armchair while Soda, Steve and Two-Bit crowded on the bed. Ponyboy sat down beside Johnny.

"Darry," started Steve. "Do you think we can crash here?"

"Not sure. Louis needs somewhere to sleep-"

"Johnny and I can sleep in the lot," said Louis sitting up. "We'll be fine."

Darry thought for a moment. Johnny would be there with him. He'll most likely be fine.

"Alright. You can sleep in the lot."

Dallas then got up stretching.

"I'm going to go on to Merril's place. He owes me money plus I need a little rest."

"Alright. Bye Dal."

Dally walked out of the door while everyone else arranged sleeping plans. Darry went back to his room.

"Okay, Steve. I'll hit the couch and you can have the armchair," suggested Two-Bit.

"Why don't you take the armchair?" shot back Steve.

"You wanna arm wrestle for it?"

"My arm is hurt stupid!"

"Then I win automatically!"

Soda cut in laughing.

"Calm it, you two. Two-Bit, let Steve have the couch since his arm hurts."

"Okay, okay," responded Two-Bit. He then turned his attention to Louis.

"Louis. Dally was awfully mad that you knocked your head. He did better than Darry out there."

Soda cut in,

"Yeah. He was crazy out there."

Louis then reached a conclusion. That settled it. Dally protected him and Johnny. Johnny always said how he had his back.

"Ready to go?" asked Johnny breaking into Louis' thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Let's go."

"Hold on," said Soda getting up and walking towards the back. He came back with pillows and blankets. He tossed them towards Johnny and Louis.

"Have fun on your campout," he said smiling.

"Thanks," said Louis.

The two walked out to the lot. They could see blood on the wall. Someone probably got knocked out real bad.

The two made their bed in the lot. They had planned on talking but something different happened. The calmness of the lot affected them. They fell asleep as soon as they had gotten comfortable.


	12. Is It?

Chapter 12: Is It?

It was dark. Louis sat up shivering. A bunch of visions flashed through his mind. Knifing people, robbing, and screams. He looked down and sat a knife in one hand and a gun in the other hand. He tried to throw them away, but they were stuck to his hand. He desperately tried to throw them but no luck. He heard laughing and looked to the side to see Drake. It was an evil laugh. Drake then disappeared his car came running towards Louis.

Louis woke up screaming. Johnny sat up beside him.

"Louis! Louis! You okay?" he said worriedly.

Louis sat up shivering again. That had to be the worst dream he had ever had. Nothing scared him like that. It was the first time he woke up screaming. He thought how it would have been if he was watching himself. Sleeping peacefully and then wake up screaming bloody murder.

"I-I'm fine. It was just a-"

Louis stopped. He was just staring in a certain direction. This worried Johnny even more.

"Louis, Louis. What's wrong?"

Johnny looked in the direction Louis was staring at. Louis was just staring at a car that had parked up the street. The engine was still running and had its back turned. Johnny looked back at Louis.

"What's wrong?"

Louis snapped back into reality and shot up to his feet.

"Johnny! C'mon!"

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the Curtis' house. C'mon!"

Johnny followed Louis with no hesitation. They ran over to the Curtis house. Louis started in the direction of a window, but Johnny shouted,

"Don't worry! They keep their front door open!"

Louis changed directions and ran towards the door. He opened it quickly and Johnny followed. They got inside and Johnny closed the door quietly.

"Lock it," said Louis. He was about to sit on the couch, but quickly remembered that Steve was sleeping on it. Louis sat on the floor and Johnny sat down beside him.

"What's wrong? What was wrong with that car?"

Louis panted for a moment and answered.

"That car. It was the same car I saw in the nightmare I just had. It looked exactly like Drake's car."

Johnny froze. How could Drake know where Louis was? Johnny then realized how nervous Louis must be. He quickly comforted him with his theory.

"It-It couldn't be. How would he know where you are?"

That calmed Louis a little. That's right. He left no trace of where he was at. Suddenly, the door opened. Fear struck in both Johnny and Louis. Johnny reached and clutched his back pocket. Louis had actually frozen. A rough looking shadow stood in the doorway. He then said in a northern city type of voice,

"You kids okay?"

Johnny and Louis calmed down. It sounded like Dally. The figure cut the porch light on and showed his face. It was Dally. Dally repeated his question.

"Yeah. We're okay Dal'. What are you doing here?" asked Johnny.

"Oh. Um. I lost a pack of cigarettes around here."

Dally reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack.

"I found them and heard Louis screaming. I just came to check on you kids."

"Oh. Well we're fine," said Louis.

"Alright. See you kids later on."

Dally cut off the porch light and shut the door. He sighed. He hoped they believed his little lie. He was actually hiding and watching them sleep. He worried about them when they were asleep in the lot. The pack of cigarettes were ones he found. He decided just to head home or to Merril's he was real tired.

Back at the house, Johnny was wondering about something. They both believed Dally's story. But Johnny noticed something wrong. Dally's pack of cigarettes were Kools. He hated Kools. Johnny just forgot about and laid down on the floor to go to sleep.

The next day at the DX, Steve and Soda were working on someone's car. Soda was thinking about the rumble the other night. Darry was about to yell at Ponyboy for showing up, but Soda stopped him. He needed to show more love.

Steve was thinking about something else. He decided to tell his best friend about as soon as they finished the car. Steve sat down next to Soda in the chairs in the garage.

"Soda. I got something to tell."

Soda looked at Steve.

"What you got to tell me?"

"Last night. My sleep was interrupted by Louis and Johnny running into your house."

"At what time?"

"Not sure. I pretended to be sleep. They said they were scared by a car that looked familiar to Louis. They said it was some guy named Drake who drove it. Dally came in later to check on them. I fell back asleep then."

Soda thought for a moment. Louis and Johnny did hang out a lot. Maybe Louis told Johnny some stuff that no one else knew.

"Do you think it has something to do with Louis past?" asked Soda.

"I think it does. And Johnny knows," answered Steve.

"Johnny knows what?"

Soda and Steve turned their attention to the doorway. Dally was standing there. Steve told Dally what he heard.

"I was awake last night. Before you came in, Louis and Johnny were scared by some guy named Drake. Louis said he saw a car that looked exactly like his. We think Louis told Johnny about his past."

'So that was what scared them' thought Dallas.

"Why were you at my house last night?" asked Soda raising an eyebrow. Dally put up the same lie.

"Nothing important. I was walking around and heard Louis screaming. I saw them running to your house."

"Louis was screaming?" asked Steve.

Dally nodded. Soda then told his conclusion.

"Something real bad must have happened with Louis. Do you think we should get it out of Johnny?"

Dally quickly shook his head.

"No. Johnny or Louis can tell us when he's ready."

Sodapop and Steve nodded. But they both knew this was kinda like Dally was out of character. He sounded a lot like Darry.


	13. Questions and Answers

Chapter 13: Questions and Answers

After that night of sleeping in the lot, Louis decided to be with Johnny as usual. But if Johnny couldn't be found, he decided to be with Two-Bit. Johnny knew why. It was because they carried around knives and Drake hated them. Johnny really doubts it was Drake. But it left Louis real scared. Kinda like how when the socs jumped Johnny, it left him scared.

Meanwhile, Steve, Soda and Dally decided to keep what they heard between themselves. If they told Darry, he would get too serious. Ponyboy might forget and let the thought slip, and Two-Bit…well go figure. Dallas had left the DX later on. When it was closing time and Steve was giving Sodapop a ride home. They were still talking about Louis.

"Do we know anything else about him?" asked Steve.

"Let me see….Oh! I remember he had a long cut on his leg the night Darry found him."

"A long cut?"

"Yup. He says he got it from running through the woods, but I'm beginning to think he got it from a fight."

"What else do you know?"

"Um. He doesn't know how to read and that's all I can think of right now."

The two drove home talking about the kid. Dallas said he would start hanging around him. He probably would know something by later on tonight.

Also at the school, Ponyboy was finished with his test. He had a lot of time left, so he decided to think about Louis. Who was this guy? He had never really got to know him. Darry was making him study all the time. The last time he talked to him was when he was teaching him to read. That was a daily chore. Pony didn't mind it. It just seemed like Darry was demanding him to teach him to read.

'So what else is new', thought Ponyboy. Darry was treating Louis like an actual brother. It's like a twisted Cinderella story. Ponyboy hated that thought. He still had Soda, so everything wasn't that bad. It was kinda good Louis came along. He was a good friend to Johnny. Everyone in the gang was talking about it. Especially Dally.

Ponyboy sometimes thought Dally was Johnny's brother. He wasn't sure, but sometimes, he saw Dally being like one to Johnny.

Speaking of Johnny. He was with Louis at the Curtis house. It took a while for both of them to go to sleep last night. They had both woken up around noon and wanted to just lounge around the house. Soon, Dally came in.

"Hey Dally," greeted Louis. Johnny did the same.

"What's up kids. Why are y'all just lounging around?"

"Just tired," answered Johnny.

"About last night?"

"Yeah."

Dally had a lot questions for them, but he didn't want to ask them that at the wrong time. He wanted to keep what he heard a secret. He decided to think about the questions to ask them. He didn't want to get suspicious.

"I'm going to the kitchen. You kids want any water. Beer?"

Louis head shot up when he heard the word _beer_.

"No!" he said with an almost loud voice. "I'll um. Just take water."

Johnny said he wasn't thirsty and Dally went to the refrigerator. 'What was that about?' he thought. Was Louis scared of beer or something? That's another clue. He was deeply worried about Louis. He hoped that whatever his past was, doesn't harm him now. He seemed to not like it.

Dally thought how it was back in New York. Running around with big gangs, getting into feuds and having rumbles. He'd even seen people shot right in front of his face. It didn't bother him that much. He remembered when he first moved down to Tulsa and met Johnny.

He instantly felt sorry for the kid. Dally had never felt like that before. He hoped he wasn't becoming soft. It was almost the same way with Louis.

Dally closed the refrigerator and went back into the living room.

"So why were you screaming last night?" asked Dally with his attention turned to Louis.

"I just had a bad dream," answered Louis.

"What was it about?"

'What's up with Dally' thought Johnny. Since when was he interested in people's dreams? He never cared when Ponyboy had his nightmares. Louis answered Dally.

"Oh. Just about something stupid. It's not important."

Dally nodded. He stayed around for a minute, but finally left. He realized he was getting no where. As soon as he closed the door, Louis asked,

"Do you think he knows?"

"I'm not sure."

Meanwhile while Dally was walking off the porch, he saw Steve's car pull up. Dally walked up to the window.

"About time you two got here. I know what time you guys get off work."

"We went by Sandy's house," started Soda. He was smiling. "Evie was over there too. We would have been over there all day, but Sandy's dad came home early. Me and Steve had to escape through the window."

Dally rolled his eyes. Sod then asked,

"Find out any new stuff on Louis?"

"Yeah. He doesn't like beer."

"Oh that helps!" said Steve sarcastically. Dally gave him one of his looks and continued.

"What I mean is that when I offered him some, he acted like it would kill him."

"Well, that could come in handy somewhere."

Dally strolled off and saw Ponyboy walking down the street from school.

"Hey Dally," he said walking towards his house.

Dally said hi back and kept walking. He and Ponyboy didn't know eachother that well. When Pony entered his house, he said hi to Johnny and Louis and asked where Soda was.

"He's taking a shower," answered Louis.

Ponyboy nodded and said, "I'll get to the reading lesson after I finish my homework, ok?"

Louis nodded and he and Johnny decided to keep watching television.


	14. Milk and Alcohol

Chapter 14: Milk and Alcohol

Ponyboy and Louis were in the kitchen continuing their reading lessons. Ponyboy wanted to get to know Louis more, but he couldn't think of any questions to ask him. Everything he asked him when he met him was pretty much a secret. He guessed he had a lot in common with Johnny. Ponyboy put a period behind the last word to finish his sentence.

"Can you say this sentence?"

Louis looked at it. It was about five seconds until he said.

"Th- the ddd-dog ra-n, ran to the paaa-park. The dog ran to the park."

"Nice job,"

Louis smiled. He was getting a lot better. He felt smart almost knowing how to read. He had asked Johnny once if he could read. Johnny said he could, he just couldn't do it very well. Louis asked if he wanted him to ask Ponyboy to teach him. Johnny said maybe. Johnny really didn't intend to answer that question.

They both heard the door close and Louis and Ponyboy looked into the living room. They saw Darry walking in greeting Soda and Johnny. Darry stuck his head into the kitchen and said hi to the two boys.

"How's it coming?" he asked looking at Pony.

"Pretty good."

"Good. Soda's gonna cook dinner tonight."

Darry left and went to the back to take a shower. Louis had never tasted Soda's cooking the whole time he had been there. Louis looked at the youngest Curtis and asked,

"Is Soda's food good?"

"Uh. I can say it hasn't killed us yet."

Louis looked at Ponyboy with a confused face and wondered what he meant by that. They continued with the lesson and Soda came in about fifteen minutes later. Louis kept taking glances back at Soda. Trying to see how Soda cooks. He really didn't get any good glances though. After a while, Soda walked over to them and said,

"Clear the table. Dinner will be ready in about five minutes."

"Okay, Soda. Louis can you help me take my books to my room?"

"Sure."

Louis and Ponyboy walked towards Ponyboy's room. Ponyboy told Johnny, who was sitting on the sofa, that dinner was ready and yelled into Darry's room the same thing. They reached the room and Pony put his books into his backpack. Louis handed him the books he was carrying and Pony put them into the backpack.

"Thanks," he said.

The two walked back to the kitchen and grabbed plates. Johnny and Darry were walking towards the pot on the counter. Darry looked back at Soda and asked,

"What are we having?"

Soda was grinning.

"Open and see."

Darry lifted the lid off of the pot. Everyone's facial expression changed. Soda had made fish dipped in chocolate milk. Louis stared at it. He was hoping that a bubble wouldn't pop up. Everyone looked back at Sodapop with raised eyebrows.

"What!" he said laughing. "I thought this family loved chocolate."

"But not with fish," said Ponyboy.

Everyone was starving, so they had no other choice. Darry got out a fork and stuck the silverware into the dead sea creature. He lifted it up as the chocolate milk dripped down its sides and plopped into the contents in the bottom of the pot.

Louis almost felt like puking. Ponyboy knew it would be different, but he wasn't expecting this. Darry put the fish on an extra plate, and cut the fish up.

Soda made spinach and lima beans also, but the chocolate milk from the fish wasn't helping. Everyone sat down at the table and started eating. Louis took a gulp before he ate. It wasn't really that bad. But he hated the after taste.

After that 'interesting' meal, Johnny and Louis went walking around the town. They were both talking about if the secret was out.

"How would they find out. Nobody was around when I told you the story."

"Yeah. But Dally is acting a little suspicious. That's what's concerning me. Should we tell him?"

Louis shook his head.

"Dally is cool and all. But I really don't know him like I know you."

Johnny nodded. He understood what he meant. Before any of them could say another word. They heard someone yell

"Grease!"

They both looked up the street and saw a soc sticking his head out of a car window. Louis and Johnny ran, but they were thinking differently. Johnny ran across the street and Louis ran into the woods. Louis thought Johnny was right behind him the entire time. The same with Johnny. When Louis got out of the woods, he finally turned around. He didn't see his best friend.

"Johnny," he yelled. No answer.

Louis looked around. He kinda recognized the place. He thought for a moment and then remembered the place. This was near Buck Merril's place. If he could find the place, he could find Dally. That would help.

Louis looked through some trees and saw bright lights and heard some music. Louis followed it and saw Buck was having a party. He walked up to the door. It was wide open, so he just walked on in.

Louis had never seen anything like this. The people here were absolutely crazy. Slugging beer, making out on couches, yelling at each other during poker games. Louis walked around the drunken men and nasty woman. He walked towards the back of one room. Still no Dally.

He probably isn't here, he thought. Louis was about to leave. As he turned around, some drunk guy was in front of him. He had a bottle of beer in his hand. He looked down at Louis and demanded,

"Drink it."

Louis backed up shaking his head. The guy was acting worse now.

"I said, drink this!"

"No!" yelled Louis.

The guy pushed Louis towards the wall and pinned him against the wall. The guy raised the bottle into the air.

"Not again," yelled Louis aloud.

Suddenly someone grabbed the guy from the back and pulled him back. Which let Louis go. Louis looked and saw it was Dally.

"Do you wanna step outside," said Dallas in a tough voice.

"Why not?"

This guy must have been drunk. Dally walked outside and the guy followed; with the bottle still in the air. Louis ran outside too. When they were outside, Dally and the other guy exchanged a couple of words. After a while, the guy threw the bottle at Dally.

Dally ducked and the bottle soared across the air and hit the outside wall of Merril's place. Dallas then to it to the guy and knocked him unconscious. Dally then turned to Louis.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got lost. I figured you would be here."

"C'mon. Let's get you back to the Curtis' house."

Dally walked Louis back to the Curtis' house.


	15. A Dark and Stormy Night

-Man. I love these reviews. Keep them coming.

Chapter 15: Dark and Stormy Night

Dally and Louis reached the house. Dally opened the door and Louis walked in. Johnny was sitting on the couch with Soda waiting for Louis. He sat up right when they entered the house.

"Where were you?" Johnny asked.

"I ran into the woods and got lost."

Dally then waved Soda outside. Soda comprehended and followed Dally outside while the other two were talking. They walked out onto the porch and Soda started.

"What's up?"

"I got another clue. It's not big though."

Soda raised his eyebrows. He had almost forgotten about Louis past. Dallas continued.

"I found him at Buck's place. He was looking for me. Some guy tried to make him slug down some beer, and Louis yelled 'Not again.' He must have drank before. Something must have happened."

Sodapop nodded. That made since. Dallas left soon, and Soda went to bed. Johnny stayed overnight again.

The rest of the week went by pretty fast. It was Friday night. On that day, Darry had to travel out real far to work on a special roof. His job provided transportation, so Darry didn't need the truck. The transportation back however was a bust and Darry needed a ride home. He called Soda from a pay phone.

"Hello," said Soda, picking up the phone. Louis, Johnny and Ponyboy were playing cards. They had just taught Louis how to play Go-Fish.

"Soda. I need you to get the truck and come pick me up. The transportation was a bust. The directions are on the refrigerator."

"Okay, Darry. See you in a minute."

Soda hung up the phone and turned his attention to the youngest in the house. He spoke up,

"Pony. I gotta pick up Darry from somewhere. It's pretty far, so you might have to sleep tonight without us. Is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"…Okay."

Soda was just worried that Ponyboy would have another nightmare. They lessened ever since Soda started sleeping with him. Soda got the directions, keys and ran out the door. Johnny decided to stay the night to keep Pony and Louis company.

Throughout the night. It started raining. At first it was just sprinkling, then it started raining hard. Louis got up to go use the restroom. Ponyboy saw this chance to see if Johnny knew anything about Louis' past. He scooted over to black-haired greaser.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah."

"Did Louis tell you anything about his past?"

Johnny froze. He remembered that Louis told him to keep it a secret. Johnny wanted to keep Louis as a friend.

"Um. N-no."

Pony looked at Johnny. He only stuttered when he was real nervous. It was all because of those socs. Before Ponyboy could say anything else, lightning struck; hard.

Both Ponyboy and Johnny jumped. It took both of them by surprise. Louis came running up to the living room.

"Are you alright?" asked Ponyboy looking at Louis' frightened face.

"I-I'm okay. The lightning just took me by surprise."

They decided to just continue their card game. There was nothing on television right now. The rain started to hit harder and lightning struck even more. Around their third, lightning struck hard and thunder rumbled like a gang fight. This impact caused the electricity to go out. All three teenagers screamed as they sat there in the darkness.

"What happened?" asked Louis.

"The power went out," answered Johnny.

The only light that shone was the lightning flashing through the window as well as a streetlight. It must have been only their house that went out. Ponyboy sat up.

"I'm going to the back to get a flashlight. I'll be right back."

Ponyboy walked towards the back of the house. Johnny was scared, but Louis was worse. He was real nervous. It reminded him what happened the last time his sight was pitch black. Louis got up and locked the door. Johnny didn't even bother to ask questions.

Ponyboy came back up to the front of the house. All he could find was a small flashlight. He clicked it on.

"I'm gonna turn it back off. I'll turn it back on, if we need it."

Johnny and Louis nodded and Ponyboy turned the only source of electricity off. Louis would have rather had the light on, but he knew what Ponyboy meant. He started to think if that was Drake in that car the other night. Drake drove a Dodge Charger. It was a fast muscle car.

Louis thoughts were interrupted the doorknob turning vigorously. Someone was trying to get in.

"Who locked the door?" asked Ponyboy standing back up.

"Don't open it!" yelled Louis.

Ponyboy turned back to Louis. He had a petrified look on his face. Ponyboy could see he was scared about something. The person then banged on the door, making Johnny and Louis both jump. Ponyboy looked at the door, then to Louis.

"Why can't I open it?"

"Because…because…"

Louis looked at Johnny.

"What's wrong?" asked Ponyboy.

The banging had stopped. Ponyboy sat back down with the other two boys.

"What's wrong?" repeated Ponyboy.

Louis sighed. He had to tell Ponyboy or else he might open the door. He didn't want to risk Drake getting to him.

"Okay…Some guy is after me-"

Louis was interuptted by a tap at the window. All three boys looked towards the window and froze. There was a man at the window tapping away. It was real scary. All three felt like they were in an actual horror movie.

They all shot up and ran towards Ponyboy and Sodapop's room. All three of them hid in there the entire night.


	16. More Answers

Sorry

Chapter 16: More Answers

Louis woke up. He was still in his clothes from last night. He sat up and saw the sun shining through the window. It was bright. He was glad it was morning. He had fallen asleep on the floor next to Ponyboy's bed. He looked on the bed. No one was there. Louis walked up front to see Johnny and Ponyboy watching television while eating chocolate cake. They both looked up when he entered the room.

"You okay?" asked Ponyboy.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay. What were you saying yesterday? You said someone was after you. I asked Johnny, but he said he didn't know what you were talking about."

Louis glanced at Johnny. He knew he could trust him. The only problem was that he had to think of something quick. He said something off the top of his head.

"Some soc was picking on me. I thought it was him."

Ponyboy looked at Louis. He didn't believe it. But Pony guessed he would be okay. If something like this happened again, he would tell Soda about it. Soda was the only person he had.

"Alright. I'm going to the movies. There's a new Paul Newnan movie out called "Bullet. Wanna come?"

"No thanks. I'm still a little tired."

"Okay. I'll be back later."

Ponyboy got up and walked out of the door. A soon as the door closed, Johnny said aloud,

"Nice save."

Louis smiled.

"I know. I guess we can keep this between our selves. Last night though. Do you think that was him?"

"I still doubt it. But this is getting kinda weird."

They continued to talk. But meanwhile at the DX, Soda and Steve were once again talking about Louis. Dallas was there too. They were still trying to figure out how all the clues connect.

"I can't think of anything!" said Steve, getting frustrated. Dally was getting frustrated too. Soda spoke up,

"We need more clues."

"Hiya!"

Everyone looked towards the door to see Two-Bit's smiling face.

"Hey Two-Bit," greeted Soda. "How come Pony, Johnny and Louis were asleep in my room?"

Two-Bit shrugged.

"I don't know. When I reached your house, someone locked the door. I tapped on the window, but the electricity went out. I guess they all went back there when the light went out. I didn't want to stand out in the rain all night, trying to get their attention, so I went home."

"Alright. I think you might have scared them."

"Well they're living. I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to meet a girl somewhere. I just came to see if I could borrow a couple of dollars."

"You owe all of us money already," said Steve.

"Alright, alright. I'll just drive around with the chick. See ya'."

"Wait," said Steve. "Has Louis ever told you anything about him?"

"No. I've barely talked to him. See you later."

Two-Bit rushed out of the door.

Soda then told Steve about what was going on at their house.

"When Darry and I finally got home, we opened the front door didn't see anyone. I kinda feared they had been kidnapped or something. We both ran to the back to see Ponyboy asleep in his bed and Johnny and Louis on the floor. They were out like a light."

'Kids' thought Steve. He really wanted to know what was going on with Louis. The only person he talked to was Johnny. Like how Pony always talked to Soda. Steve couldn't stand that. Ponyboy needed to be around people his own age. Not tagging along his brother.

Later on, Johnny and Louis decided that they would walk around town. They were getting tired of just sitting around the house. They needed some fresh air. As they walked out of the door, Louis began to look around. He wanted to see if that car was still there. Johnny noticed this.

"Are you looking for Drake's car?" he asked.

"Yeah. Last night didn't help any."

"It might have been one of the boys."

"I hope it was. But I'm not taking any risks with this."

"Well. You said he was scared of knives."

"Let's find Two-Bit. He has a knife also."

"Okay."

They went looking around for Two-Bit. They walked by his house and his car wasn't there. They went over to the Dingo to see if he was there. They didn't see him. But suddenly down the street they heard his voice. They followed the voice and saw Two-Bit trying to talk to some broad. She seemed to be mad at him.

"I thought you had dumped the Kathy!"

"I never said that!"

"Yes you did! You also said that you would stop drinking! I can smell it in your breath!"

She gave Two-Bit a slap across the face and stalked off. Two-Bit put his hand on his cheek and just smiled. He noticed Louis and Johnny walking behind him and turned around.

"Hey Johnny, Louis."

"Are you alright?" asked Louis.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I still have Cathy. So, what'd you want?"

"We were bored," started Johnny. "We figured we could find something to do with you."

Two-Bit smiled.

"Well. You reached the right person."


	17. Just A Little Thinking

Chapter 17: Just A Little Thinking

Darry was at work. He was on a quick break so he decided to think for a second. He wondered his brothers would be doing. He knew Ponyboy was in school. His brother was a lot smarter than that. Soda always said he was too strict on Pony, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want any of his brothers to be sent to a home. He knew being their guardian would be hard. He wished he could be like his parents. It seemed like they raised all three of them with ease.

Then he began thinking about Louis. He was glad he was friends with Johnny. Johnny needed that. Especially after he had gotten jumped. Johnny was real quiet. Louis barely said anything to anybody except Johnny. He thinks.

He wondered if Louis told Johnny about what happened to him. He wondered if anyone even thought of his past. Dallas was hanging around Sodapop and Steve a lot more. Dallas was usually a loner. He sometimes hung out with the Tim Shepard gang. But that's only because him and Tim Shepard were good buddies.

"Darrel!"

Darry's head shot up and he looked at one of his co-workers.

"Break's over," he said.

"Alright," said Darry getting up. It was time to focus on work.

Meanwhile Steve, Soda and Dally were still thinking of what could have happened to Louis. Suddenly, Soda then put his finger up and said,

"Maybe a giant beer that drove a car attacked him with toxic beer and burned his leg."

Steve and Dally looked at the second oldest Curtis brother. Soda just put on a wide grin. Steve and Dally couldn't help but smile. It was just something about Soda that could make anyone smile.

Pretty soon, Soda and Steve had to get back to working and Dally left to find Louis and Johnny. He had to find out more clues.

As Dally walked through the town, he said hi to some other greasers that were walking around. He also saw his girlfriend Sylvia, and she started at him. She was saying that she should get money from him.

"I'm not made of money," he said.

"I don't care. You're supposed to support your woman."

"I'll tell you what. I'll run by Merril's place tonight. I'll get some money from some drunk greasers. Okay?"

Sylvia smiled. She always fell in when Dally put on his charm. When Dally felt like it, he would turn on any lady. He rarely did this though.

After he finished with Sylvia, he went back to look for Johnny and Louis. As he was walking, he saw a couple of socs talking to someone in a car.

"Drugs," said Dally to himself.

Dally wasn't sure what they were doing, but he knew socs always had been getting drugs from other people. They had to do that in order to keep their reputation. If they had been seen getting drugs from some old bum, they would have looked exactly like greasers. And that was one thing that the socs would never do.


	18. Wrong

Chapter 18: Wrong

Louis, Johnny, and Two-Bit walked over to the Dingo. Two-Bit met Kathy over there and started to talk to her. While he was in his conversation, Johnny and Louis sat down by themselves. Kathy noticed Louis and asked Two-Bit.

"Two-Bit, whose that?"

Two-Bit turned around and then looked at his girlfriend.

"Who?"

"The kid sitting beside your friend, um… Johnny."

Two-Bit turned around again and saw that she was mentioning Louis.

"Oh. Him. That's Louis. Darry found him walking down the street a week ago. Darry said that he couldn't read, so his brother, Ponyboy is teaching him. It's weird though. He hasn't told anyone where he's from or anything about him. Well, he might have told Johnny. They hang around a lot."

Kathy looked at the guy. He looked so innocent. Kind of like Johnny. While Two-Bit and Kathy were talking, Johnny and Louis were doing the same.

"Hey Johnny?" asked Louis.

"Yeah."

"Well, Ponyboy didn't tell me much about everyone else in the gang. I don't know much about everyone else. I guess it's because me and you have become good friends. Do you think you can tell me more about the guys?"

"Uh. Sure. Let me think."

Johnny thought for a moment. What about the gang? He decided to start with Ponyboy.

"Well, Ponyboy likes to read a lot. I think it's because Darry makes him. He's pretty cool to hang out with. He can only do it on the weekends though. Darry wants to make sure he stays in school."

"How come you don't go to school?"

Johnny had saddened a little, but he didn't show it.

"I don't go, because the teaching is too fast. Well, that's what Ponyboy says. I didn't really care for the teachers. Some of them were nice but a lot of them got mad with me when I couldn't get the stuff right. It took me a while to get things."

Louis nodded.

"I never went to school. We didn't have the money."

'We'. That reminded Louis of his mom. The image of her lying on the floor bleeding flashed through his mind. Tears then started streaming down his face.

"Louis! Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

Louis wiped his eyes quickly. Johnny understood. He hated Louis' past also. He needed someone to actually be his friend. Dally was a good bodyguard too.

Right then, Two-Bit walked over to them.

"Hey. I'm about to leave. Y'all coming?"

Both Johnny and Louis got up and followed him outside. They realized how short the day had been. It was already dark outside. There were alleys around and Two-Bit said it would be safer walking down the middle of the street. There were no cars around anyway. While they were walking, Two-Bit was telling the two guys a joke. But right then in the middle of the joke, Louis stopped.

Two-Bit and Johnny almost left him. They both turned around to look at him. Louis was frozen and wide eyed.

"What's wrong kid?" asked Two-Bit. He had no idea what was going on. Louis just kept staring straight ahead. Not budging. Johnny turned back around and looked up the street and nearly froze himself.

The car that they saw the night him and Louis were sleeping in the lot, was right up the street. The engine still running. Two-Bit noticed Johnny frozen and looked up the street.

"What's wrong? All I see is a car."

Louis snapped back into reality and ran the opposite way. Two-Bit had no idea what was wrong as he called out Louis' name. Johnny was still facing the car. He reached into his back pocket and flipped out his switchblade. The car then started up and zoomed towards the two greasers.

"Whoa!" yelled Two-Bit as he yanked Johnny out of harms way. Johnny dropped his blade and the two hit the sidewalk. The car was still zooming down the street. Johnny jumped back up and grabbed his blade.

He then chased the car like a dog. Two-Bit jumped up also and chased after Johnny calling his name.

Louis was still running down the street. He turned a corner a while back. He turned his head and saw the car turning the corner. Fear rose throughout his body as he kept running.

Meanwhile, Dally was still looking for the Louis and Johnny. He had been searching all day. He was gonna give up and go to Buck's for the money. When he suddenly heard footsteps pounding the ground. He turned around to see Louis running towards him like the devil was after him.

"Louis?" he yelled.

Louis looked in his direction and saw Dally. He ran towards his bodyguard. He reached him breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" demanded Dally shaking Louis.

"Someone's after me in a car!"

Dally looked up and the car speeding towards the both of them. Dally pushed himself and Louis out of harms way. Dally hit the side and let go of his grip on Louis. Louis tumbled on the sidewalk. The car had hit the brakes while turning as it skidded to a stop.

Dally got up and ran towards the car. He yanked open the door and pulled the driver out. He slammed him onto the ground and started punching the daylights out of him. He stopped punching him and looked at the guy. He was a soc. He nose was bleeding badly.

Dally still had the guys collar in his grip. Louis got up and ran to the two teenagers. It wasn't Drake. It was someone else.

Before Louis could say anything, the sound of sirens rang throughout the area. Two police cars came rolling down the street. And four cops got out drawing their guns yelling

"Freeze!"

Dally then realized that the image looked like he was beating up the soc. Dally quickly let go of the collar as the cops neared him.


	19. Fault

Were y'all expecting that?

Chapter 19: Fault

They slapped handcuffs on him as Johnny and Two-Bit ran up to the scene. Two-Bit ran up to the cops to figure out what happened as Louis backed up towards Johnny. Johnny looked over at the cops helping up the soc.

"That isn't Drake is it?" he asked.

Louis shook his head. It wasn't Drake at all.

Dally couldn't believe what was happening. He had been arrested millions of times, but this time it was for nothing. He would have been angry at Louis, but he couldn't get over his innocent look.

They shoved Dally into the car and drove off. Louis, Johnny, and Two-Bit stood there in a line looking at the car drive off. Two-Bit then noticed something. He looked at the window of one of the buildings and saw someone looking out of it. They quickly moved away from the window when Two-Bit looked towards them.

Two-Bit then got the picture. Someone tipped the cops off. He still didn't know what was going on.

Suddenly, Louis darted off. He couldn't believe. He had gotten Dally jailed. He never wanted this to happen to anyone. He believed that Two-Bit and Johnny were angry with him.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Two-Bit were both surprised by Louis' action.

"What's with him?" asked Two-Bit.

"I-I don't know?"

Two-Bit looked at Johnny. He only stuttered when there was something wrong. There was something Johnny wasn't telling him.

"Are you alright?" asked Two-Bit.

Johnny nodded.

"I-I'm just a little spooked from what just happened."

Two-Bit knew he was lying, but he decided to just leave it at that.

Louis ran all the way to the Curtis house. He felt terrible. It seemed to be like he messed up everything. No matter where he went. Well, hopefully the Curtis' won't be too mad at him. He was staying at their place.

Louis went through the back door of the house. Suddenly, he heard someone crying. He peeked into the living room to see Soda trying to calm Ponyboy.

"What's wrong, Pony?" said Soda in a soft voice.

Pony sniffed and answered,

"It-It just seems like you guys are paying more attention to Louis. And-and Darry is so strict on me but easy on him."

Soda calmed his brother more. He had no idea that he felt like this. Neither did Louis, who heard the whole entire thing.

Now he felt worse, Ponyboy was angry at him now. Louis turned around slowly and walked out of the back door. He was really saddened.

He walked down the streets alone. Thinking of how bad he had made everything. Dally was in jail because of him. Ponyboy wasn't getting any attention because of him. Everyone in the gang was probably mad at him.

He couldn't take it. He decided the best thing to do now, is too run away again. But then he wondered, would it be the best thing.

He ran away before, but he still couldn't leave his troubles. There was no way he could get away from his past. He would have to deal with it.

He wasn't even paying attention to where he was going. Suddenly a car pulled up beside him and a familiar voice said,

"Did you miss me?"

If I don't update quickly, sorry for the cliffhanger.


	20. Help

Chapter 20: Help

Louis slowly looked up towards the car window and his eyes widened. Drake was right there in front of him.

"H-how did you find me?"

Drake smiled. He looked real evil as his wide grin spread. One of his teeth were gold.

"This is the first town I saw while riding. I was tipped off by some kids named socs. We devised a plan to get rid of that guy that kept being around you. So I could get you-"

Louis didn't bother to listen as he took off down the street. He wasn't sure where he was going. This was the third time he had been lost. But he didn't care. He wanted to get as far away from Drake as possible.

Drake was speeding down the street chasing him. If it wasn't for all the turns he would have caught Louis by now.

Louis ran until, it seemed he was just out of Tulsa. There was an old factory right down the hill and Louis tripped. He rolled and tumbled down the hill and hit the wall. His head hurt and a little, but he stayed in focus.

Suddenly, Drake's car came speeding down the hill. Coming straight for him. Louis quickly got up and dived out of the way. Drake's car had an impact with the wall as Louis ran around the corner and entered the factory.

Drake barely had damage so he climbed out of the car and kept running straight after Louis. He really wanted to catch.

Meanwhile, at the Curtis house, the Curtis brothers, Steve, Two-Bit and Johnny were sitting down. Darry had just come in early from work. He looked around and asked,

"Where's Louis? Is he with Dally?"

"I don't know," said Two-Bit. "Dally got arrested for beating a soc and Louis took off running."

Darry was worried. He hoped the kid was okay. Then the phone rang. Johnny was closest to the phone.

"Johnny. Can you get the phone for me?" asked Darry.

Johnny got up and answered the phone.

"Um. Hello."

"Johnny! This is Louis!"

"Louis!"

At that name, everyone in the room turned their attention to Johnny. But he didn't notice. He wanted to know what was up with Louis.

"Where are you?"

"At some old factory thing outside of town. Drake is after me. I actually saw him. I need help!"

"Okay. Me and the guys will come. Just hang on!"

Johnny hung up the phone and turned to everyone else. This was it. He had to tell everyone about Louis' past, and quickly.

"Someone from Louis' past is after him."

"You mean Drake?" said Steve aloud.

Darry looked at Steve.

"You knew?" he asked.

"Not really. Me, Soda and Dally have been getting clues about it. We don't know much though."

Johnny quickly cut in and started the story. He had no time for this. They had to save Louis.

"In Louis' old hometown, someone tricked him into drinking alcohol and that made him do crazy things. The guy's name is Drake. He mad Louis drink some and Louis accidentally killed his mom. That's why he ran away. Now Drake's back to get him. Louis just called from the factory that's around here."

Darry quickly took charge.

"Okay. Pony, Johnny you stay here. The rest of us will go get Louis."

Everyone obeyed and quickly trooped out of the door. Ponyboy did want to go with them, but this Drake guy sounded like a scary guy. Plus, someone needed to be with Johnny. His close friend was in trouble.

As Darry was speeding to the only factory near Tulsa, he had some questions.

"How come no one told me about this?"

"Me and Steve didn't have everything. And you barely understand anything that isn't plain hard fact."

'Well that's the truth' thought Darry.

"How come no one told me!" shouted Two-Bit.

"You should know the answer," said Steve. "Good thing Dal isn't here. I think he really likes that Louis kid. It would have been another version of the rumble."

"That's true. Judging by what we heard about Drake. Dally would have wanted first hands on the guy," said Soda.

They zoomed down the street until they reached the factory. They wanted to save the kid. He needed friends after what they heard he had been through.


	21. Extra Help

Chapter 21: Extra Help

Back at the Curtis house, Johnny was pacing around the room. He was real worried about Louis. He wanted to go help, but what could he do? They…wait a minute, he knew something no one else knew. Drake was afraid of blades.

"Johnny. It's gonna be okay," said Ponyboy who was sitting on the couch. He was worried about Louis also, but not as much as Johnny.

"I just-I mean. Ponyboy! Let's go!" commanded Johnny.

Ponyboy looked at the gang's pet with a confused face. He had never seen Johnny like this. He was always jumpy after he had gotten jumped. He must have really cared for Louis.

"Go where?" asked Ponyboy.

"To the factory. We've got to help the guys save Louis."

"No," said Ponyboy sitting up. "Darry told us to stay here. Plus we have no way of getting there."

Johnny was right. The factory was a while away. It wasn't exactly walking distance. You could reach the place in two to three minutes if you're driving. If Soda or Two-Bit were driving. It would be seconds.

Suddenly the door opened. Ponyboy and Johnny looked up to the door. Johnny then yelled out,

"Dally!"

Dally saw the way Johnny was looking and knew there was something wrong.

"What's wrong? Where's everyone else?" asked Dally.

Johnny jumped up and told Louis' story again.

"And now Drake is after Louis. The boys went to go save him."

That hit it. Dally had to go help. He had to save Louis.

"Where are they?"

"At the factory just outside of town."

"I'm going."

"Wait!"

Dally turned around and saw Johnny's face.

"I'm coming too."

"No. It's too dangerous."

"I'm going!"

Dally most likely couldn't argue with Johnny. For the first time in his life, he was determined. Louis was the person, Johnny cared for the most in the world. He was too good of a friend to let die.

"Fine. Pony. You coming too?"

"Yeah." Ponyboy didn't want to miss the action.

"All right. C'mon."

All three of them ran into Buck's T-Bird. On the way there, Ponyboy spoke up.

"Dally. If Darry asks why I'm there. Just say you needed directions."

Dally just nodded. He was focused on getting to Louis and helping.

Louis was hiding in a room at the factory. He was hoping that Darry, Steve, Soda, Two-Bit or anybody. He just wanted someone to get rid of Drake.

"Louiiiiiiiiiiiiisss," called out Drake. That call creeped Louis out. Suddenly, the door rattled. Louis fears hit him. He looked up and saw there was an air vent. He climbed on top of a desk and broke open the old vent cover. He jumped up and pulled himself into the vent. He started crawling.

Suddenly the door busted open, and two figures stood there.

"Louis!" called Soda.

"I don't think he's in here," said Darry.

They then went off to check the other doors. Darry and Soda had split up with Two-Bit and Steve to find Louis.

Dally had reached the factory.

"Ponyboy. Stay in the car. Darry will kill me if you get hurt."

Ponyboy didn't want to argue with Dally. You wouldn't either, if you saw the way he looked. Dally and Johnny jumped out of the car and ran into the factory. Dally demanded that he stay with him.

Louis continued to crawl through the vents as he was crawling, he heard a familiar voice. He listened and then he whispered,

"Steve?"

The vent couldn't support Louis' weight and he fell right through and screamed as he crashed onto the floor. This reminded him of when the socs had chased him.

Steve and Two-Bit turned around quickly.

"Did you hear that?" asked Steve.

"Yeah," answered Two-Bit. "It came from that room way over there."

"Let's go."

The two greasers then ran over towards the room.

Louis was still shocked as he laid there. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over him. It was Drake.

"Time to drink up."

Drake put a bag he had been carrying on the ground and forced alcohol down Louis' mouth. Louis was worried. It was gonna happen again. A familiar taste when down his throat as psycho state of mind kicked in.

Two-Bit and Steve burst through the door as Drake poured the last bottle down.

"Hey!" yelled Steve.

Drake turned around and quickly got up smiling. He had also forced gloves onto Louis hand.

Steve and Two-Bit saw Louis getting up and then looked at Drake.

"You're Drake?" asked Two-Bit.

"Yeah. I'm Drake."

"You're dead meat, buddy," said Two-Bit cracking his knuckles.

"No. You are. Get them!"

Two-Bit and Steve didn't know what he was talking about. Then they looked at Louis. His eyes were different. He looked like a killer. They then figured out, that Drake had just made him drink alcohol.

Louis then flipped out a metal pipe and started swinging at Two-Bit and Steve furiously. Two-Bit and Steve just dodged him. Two-Bit wasn't gonna hit him. Neither was Steve. They just couldn't do it.

Drake then ran out of the room. Trying to get more alcohol.

"Where do you think you're going!" yelled Two-Bit.

He chased after Drake while Steve pinned Louis against the wall. Trying to convince him what was going on.

Louis got loose quickly and chased after Two-Bit and Drake. Steve followed also. Meanwhile, Darry and Soda had no idea what was going on. Soda took a glance out of a window, and then looked again.

"Darry!" he yelled. "Buck's T-Bird is outside. And Ponyboy's sitting in it!"

"What!" yelled Darry.

Darry then made his way outside and Soda followed. Darry was furious and curious. (That rhymes! Cool)

Meanwhile, Drake had lost Two-Bit. Drake made his way up to the roof and then stopped. Dally and Johnny were already up there looking for Johnny. Dally turned around.

"Who are you?" yelled Dally.

"Drake. Who are you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," snapped Dally.

Drake got angry and walked up to Dally. That meant he was ready to fight.

"Stand back, Johnny," said Dally pushing the young greaser back.

Johnny moved out of harm's way while Dally Drake duked it out. Drake was putting up a good fight, and Dally did have a little trouble. He knocked Dally back once and Dally almost lost his balance. Johnny then remembered something.

"Dally!"

Dally turned his attention to Johnny as he tossed his blade to Dally. Dally caught it and flicked it out. Drake froze and Dally smiled.

Then, Two-Bit came up and saw Drake frozen and Dally with the knife.

"Get out your blade, Two-Bit. This guy is scared of them."

Two-Bit got out his prized possession and Drake started backing up. He backed all the way onto the edge of the roof.

Right then, Louis came jumping up to the roof and Steve caught him just in time from attacking Johnny.

"Louis! Did he have alcohol?" yelled Dally.

"Yeah," said Two-Bit with his blade still pointing to Drake.

Dally looked to Drake and whispered,

"You son of a bitch."

Dally then turned his attention to Louis. He struggling hard to get out from Steve's grip. He could only think of one thing to do.

"Johnny," he started. "See if you can snap him back into reality."

Johnny looked at Dally. He was scared of Louis in this state of mind.

"C'mon kid," said Dallas calmly.

Johnny saw the look in Louis' eyes. He had to get him back to normal. Johnny slowly walked up to the struggling Louis and spoke.

"What are you doing here!"

Ponyboy turned around and saw his two brothers running to him. He put up his lie.

"Dally is here. He needed directions."

Darry was about to yell at Pony but then paused.

"Shhh. I hear something on the other side of the building. Soda stay here with Ponyboy."

Ponyboy and Sodapop exchanged looks as Darry ran off.

Meanwhile, back on the roof, Johnny was still calming Louis. It seemed to be working.

"C'mon Louis. This isn't you. You remember me don't you. It's Johnny. You- You're best friend."

All of a sudden, Louis eyes changed. They looked normal. Johnny had did it. All he needed to hear was his best friend. Louis was still in a state of mind. He looked past Johnny and saw Drake on the corner. Something flickered in his eyes again. It scared Johnny.

Louis got out of Steve's grip and pushed past Johnny. He zoomed right past Two-Bit and Dally and tackled Drake. Knocking them both clean off the roof.

"Louis!" yelled everyone running over to the edge.

Louis and Drake fell as Drake was screaming. Louis jacket suddenly caught a hook, but Drake continued to fall. Hit had an impact with the ground and was killed instantly. Drake's head was split open and his leg was broken. It was reminiscent of the way Louis' mom looked.

Louis had passed out after he knocked Drake off the roof. He was about to slip out of his jacket again. He was out of reach for everyone on the roof.

Drake slipped out of the jacket and Johnny and Dally yelled,

"Nooooooo!"

Louis fell, but luckily, Darry came speeding down towards his landing spot and caught Louis in his arms. Everyone on the roof was relieved. Especially Johnny and Dally.

About 2 weeks later….

The gang, Louis and a police officer were all in the living room, watching a news report.

"Drake Parker was found near a factory just outside of Tulsa. Detectives believe that it was suicide. Drake was also charged with killing someone's mother near his home."

Louis smiled. Drake's gun was found at the scene of the crime and Louis had gloves on. Drake's fingerprints were all over the weapon.

After the situation, the police got involved and found out about Louis. No one said that he killed his mother or Drake. They'll keep that to themselves. Louis would now be going to live with his grandmother, in Texas.

After the news report was over, the officer escorted Louis out the Curtis house. Louis said his goodbyes to everyone, he then had a talk with Johnny.

"Thanks Johnny. You really saved me, and a lot of other people."

"Well. You're my best friend. I hate to see you go."

"Me too."

Louis then turned his attention to Dally. Who was posted next to the house.

"Thanks Dally," said Louis.

"Yeah. Whatever. Bye kid," he said.

Louis smiled and got into the car. He was gonna miss these guys.


	22. Reunion

Hold on! Ladies and Gentlemen. It ain't over yet. What, you thought I was gonna leave y'all right there. Uh-Uh. Let me finish this real quick!

Chapter 22: Reunion

A young man around his twenties was just getting out of the airport. He looked around and recognized his hometown. Ponyboy Curtis had just come back to Tulsa. It had been years since he came back.

As he was waiting outside of the airport, an old car came rolling to a stop in front of him. The window rolled down to show Sodapop Curtis' smiling face.

"Hey Soda!" greeted Ponyboy.

"Hey! Long time, no see."

Ponyboy got into the car and put his bag into the back. Soda and he were talking the entire way to the Curtis house. Ponyboy had written a book about an event that happened a while after Louis had left.

The car rolled up to the house, and the two youngest Curtis brothers stepped out of the car. Ponyboy stood next to the car while Soda ran up and knocked on the door. Signaling that they were ready to go.

A muscular man opened the door and smiled. There were two more men behind him. They were Darry, Two-Bit and Steve. They all walked down the steps and greeted Ponyboy. Now it was the hard part. Revisiting two old friends.

They all piled into the car and drove to the gravesite. As they got out of the car, they walked up to two tombstones. One read:

R.I.P.

Johnny Cade

The other tombstone read:

R.I.P.

Dallas Winston

They all just stood there looking at the tombstone. A couple of tears appeared in Soda and Pony's eyes. Two-Bit and Steve were on the verge and Darry held his back.

Suddenly, Ponyboy sense someone walking behind him. He turned around, and saw someone unfamiliar. He stared at him as the person walked towards them. Soda noticed Ponyboy looking and looked also. From then on it was a domino effect with Two-Bit looking last.

"Can we help you?" asked Ponyboy.

"Y'all don't remember me. Do you?"

Everyone looked at him. He did look sorta familiar, but he couldn't nail it. Suddenly, Soda yelled out,

"Louis!"

Everyone looked at Soda, and then looked at the man. He was smiling.

"It is you. Louis!" said Two-Bit.

"Yup."

Louis walked up. He looked better than he had looked when he was a teenager. His hair was cut neatly and he had on a blue jeans outfit.

Louis stood in front of the tombstones.

"I guess you read Pony's book," said Darry looking at Louis. He nodded.

"Yeah. It's kind of sad. I was real close to both of them."

Everyone knew what he meant. Dally did protect him and Johnny was his best friend. They stood there for a while, looking over Johnny and Dally's grave.

As they were walking back to their cars, Steve asked,

"So Louis. How have you been?"

"Well. My grandmother took care of me real well. She died three years ago. Which is one of the reasons I came back to here. You guys were the closest thing I had to family."

Everyone smiled. That was the truth. They continued to walk to the car. Louis frequently came to Tulsa to visit the gang. He still wished his bodyguard and best friend could be there with him. But the two were always looking over him.

Whoo! That's it. For real this time. This was one popular story. Louis was more popular than Trix and Danny! For to all my reviewers. Y'all made this fic real good. It was the longest I had ever written. 22 Chapters! But I hit one of my goals. I wanted at least one of my stories to have over 50 reviews. And I achieved it. Gracias! And sorry for the delays. My dad was getting the computer and stuff fixed and threw me off! Well, now for the next comings. The next one will be my second song fic. Some of the chapters are to the reviewers of my Trix and Danny fics, so you might wanna see it. Also I'll be crossing borders and doing a fic based on the game "Super Smash Bros." But I won't leave y'all like that. I'll be posting two at a time. (I won't try to delay y'all again.) After the Song Fic, you will see a fic starring Trix. This time, we will see his side of the fic, Different Outsiders, Same Methods. Be on the look out for that. Also, the That Was Then, This Is Now fic is coming. Man, I've got a lot of stuff. One thing also, I've written my own stories and I found out about the I'm wondering if I should put them on there. Y'all let me know. I'm nervous about putting my creations on the web. Well, catch y'all later!

Getting Into Their Heads II-UP NEXT!

Another side, Another Story-RIGHT AFTERWARDS!

Smashing Squads-UP NEXT!

A Best Friend's Bond-IN PROGRESS


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